book and magazine Donation (sale, to buy, to live in)

[heartbeat]

Where to donate used books (text books and novels) and magazines?

I called my local library, but they were not interested and told me to just recyle those old magazines. A friend of mine mentioned that Mass libraries have enough resources to buy new books and magazines so they don't appreciate donation. Is that true?

I don't have any problem with past issue magazines since I now recyle them. But how about used books?

P.S. I used to live in FL and CA where the local libraries gladly accept used books and magazines donations.

[clevedark]

Libraries general don't want used book donations because one of the things they do is called "collection development," which means that they carefully plan which materials they want to add to their collections based on what fits their users' needs best.

Another thing they constantly do is shed books that are outdated, contain wrong information, or haven't circulated in a while. The collection has to be relevant, and there is a limited amount of shelf space.

The only kinds of libraries that will accept these kinds of donations are those with decimated budgets and empty shelf space that needs to be filled with something, anything, or those that will use the donated books to stock a used book sale to raise money to buy the materials they really need.

Maybe you could donate your books and magazines to a local hospital.

[heartbeat]

Thanks for the suggestion. I actually thought about senior centers before.

[CaseyB]

Our library has an outside collection bin for this organization Got Books? Donate Used Books. You can look up locations on their website.

[heartbeat]

Oh my, thanks so much. there is one drop-off location in my town.

[MSitzes]

You should def donate to Senior Centers. They can use them for crafts and reading. Seniors would love them. I am currently looking for old magazines and books for the Senior Centers in Oklahoma.

[SouthShoreDad]

great ideas so far...another is try hospitals that treat cancer patients or patients on dialysis. These patients often get treatments that last for hours at a time. I had to receive treatment at Dana Farber recently and they have great volunteers that come around with a cart filled with books and magazines. I must have read fifteen books while there.